tomson75;3602833 said:
That's easy to say when it's not your job on the line. Take my word for it, every firefighter in the country right now is susceptible to losing their job, and there are over 500,000 certified firefighter/emt/paramedics dying to take it from them.
This is political, not personal. If those guys don't follow orders and protocol, they're putting their own livelihood in danger, not to mention their lives. I doubt very much there wasn't a firefighter on scene there that wouldn't have loved to be able to kick that fire's ***. It's what they live for, but their hands were tied.
...would you sacrifice your family's income and livelihood to keep another man's home from burning when you were specifically ordered not to?
You'd be a fool if you did.
Tomson is exactly right. It doesn't matter if anyone likes it or not.
Look, a Fire Department is not an autonomous entity. They answer to someone. Let me give you a scenario that is likely very close to the one described above.
The city where the FD exists have responsibility for the firefighters, equipment, and citizens of their municipality. I hope no one disagrees with this. Undoubtedly they insure the FD and their equipment. Every time that equipment or active firefighters leave their jurisdiction their liability increases exponentially.
How does the city where the department exists know the condition of fire hydrants outside of their control? They don't. If a subdivision has a hydrant that is sub standard the firefighters could potentially be in more danger. All it takes is one rusty gate valve inside a hydrant and you have men inside an inferno expecting water and when the tank on the truck runs out, they are in danger.
If you guys do not think City Hall doesn't put pressure on these departments to have contingency plans then you are delusional. Not only that, but if they go outside the established contingenc,y they are now in jeopardy of being seen by City Hall as insubordinate.
I took an oath when I was a firefighter. We all do. If you think they didn't want to respond to that fire you're out of your mind. The adrenaline rush alone is addictive and these guys take pride.
But the chances are they were warned of the consequences if they disobeyed orders. It is easy to say you would disobey City Hall and face the music, because you don't breathe the air these guys do. When you wear that uniform you represent something, but you also are subject to the name of the municipality on your sleeve and the door of the truck.
I rarely talk about this. My partner and I were first on scene of a toxic spill from a tanker truck. My job when I saw the placard was to look up the Hazmat procedures immediately. My instructions when I saw the protocol were to keep everyone back 75 yards from the spill. My partner and I were ordered not to go any closer. I could hear the driver screaming for help. I had to listen to him die. It tore me up inside. I can't even begin to explain it to you. Sometimes I hear him in my dreams. I wish I was making that up, but I am not. I have been told he was going to die whether I got him out of the truck or not. Had we gone closer we too would have died. It was guaranteed. So we sat there hearing him plead and then his breath gurgle as his lungs exploded inside him little by little.
Our fire truck was confiscated by the EPA until they could determine it was contaminant free. They brought in a bulldozer and dug a trench in the ground. My partner and I were instructed to walk into that trench. Their agents in silver suits turned the reel fire hoses from a truck on us and they stripped us naked as they scrubbed us with brushes. There we were naked in front of God and everyone. Wool blankets don't feel comfortable on scrubbed until pink skin.
If you think I tell you that story to brag, you're out of your mind. I wish it never happened, but it did.
I took a course in air crash rescue. Did you know that if a military jet goes down and the pilot is still in the cockpit you can't approach the plane? You do the wrong thing and the ejector seat will kill you. I never had to face that, but just like that truck driver if I had I might have had to listen to a man die. I might even see it this time.
There is nothing simple about being a firefighter and nothing simple about following some orders. You can talk all you want about how unfair this is. I will tell you the most unfair thing about it. Putting that department in the position to ever make that call. That is the part that is unfair.
Like I said earlier in this thread. If I am Administration of that department I have something in place in case someone "forgets" to pay. Something that pays a lot more than the 75 bucks. It would not be negotiable because to respond means I put men and equipment on the line.
This is tough. I feel for the family that lost everything. I really do, but my sympathies lie with the Department. They acted right. I will defend them until my last breath. I have been there. It doesn't make it easy, but that job is never easy.
They did the right thing. Emotions don't count in the real world. That is the hard but honest truth.
